Vladivostok Opens Doors to the World
VLADIVOSTOK, Far East — Bathed by the Sea of Japan but controlled by Moscow, Vladivostok has always presented two faces to the world.
Its open face was that of Russia’s San Francisco — a rollicking, cosmopolitan seaport that was the childhood home of Yul Brynner.
Head to the Far East for a Dose of Ships & Seafood
Vladimir Sayapin / Itar-TassLike San Francisco, Vladivostok is situated on a hill on a bay, but the similarities end there - Vladivostok prides itself on its hardbitten naval history and Pacific Fleet.l
Primorsky Krai, literally ‘maritime region’, stretches along Russia’s Pacific coast, and borders China and North Korea to the west. The port of Vladivostok, the region’s largest city, in September 2002 hosted an APEC investment symposium, attracting delegates from 12 member countries. The event hoped to raise the profile of the Russian Far East in the Asia-Pacific, one of the reasons that Russia joined the forum in 1997.
These are basic facts on Primorye as provided in a report by the regional administration. Despite the fact that the report was issued in 1998 most information it contains is up to date except that several economic figures may have changed slightly.
The Primorye region as an administrative and territorial unit of Russia was formed with its present boundaries in 1938. It borders the Khabarovsk Region in the north, the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the west and south-west, and is washed by the Sea of Japan in the east and south. Primorye takes up 165,900 square kilometers of territory. The region is located in the south of the Far East. There are 12 regionally-administered cities and 25 rural counties. The capital is Vladivostok.
Primorsky Krai’s first town, Vladivostok, was founded in 1860, when Tsarist soldiers landed in the Golden Horn Bay and set up a military post. The fast-growing town attracted entrepreneurs from Europe and America, thanks to its closeness to China and Japan, and abundance of natural resources, with Chinese and Korean immigrants providing cheap labour.
Just 18 years later, the city had over 4,000 residents, mostly living in wooden cottages, but successful businessmen built stone mansions. The city had a multi-ethnic flavour, and its main streets were named Koreyskaya (Korean), Pekinskaya (Peking) and Kitayskaya (Chinese).